[July 20, 2011] Foreign-film specialty store may fade to black Tweet Jul 19, 2011 (The Miami Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The end credits are about to roll on Lion Video. The Coral Gables establishment, known for its treasure of hard-to-find foreign films, is in danger of closing after almost two decades of serving the South Florida film community. Owner Damian Hertado cites construction on the street outside of the storefront and the store's failure to adapt to the changing video market as key factors in the store's recent troubles. If Hertado wants Lion Video to remain open through July he must raise around $7,000 to cover unpaid rent and order new film releases. The small store houses more than 15,000 films in six small rooms. Recent construction of a median on Ponce de Leon and sidewalk renovations in front of the store severely hurt business. Hertado is looking to the public for help and donations. "Basically we're a month and a half behind on our rent and about 30 titles behind because we can't afford to order the films our customers are demanding," Hertado said. "We still have a good clientele. These are just rough times and we need a little push to stay open." The recent economic climate hasn't been kind to the video rental store. Blockbuster, South Florida's largest video rental chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last year and announced the closing of 25 South Florida stores in May.While Lion Video has seen the threat of the changing video rental business, there's a reason why the store has remained successful through the years. Shortly after opening in 1992, Hertado and his business partner, Isaac Santos, began ordering "exclusive films" that have not yet been distributed in the United States. Hertado and Santos ordered directly from countries like Spain and France, purchasing films that other stores would have to wait months or even years to obtain. "As soon as we started getting in the exclusives the store became a goldmine, we didn't even know what to do with all the money we were making," said Hertado. These exclusive films are responsible for much of the store's popularity and loyal customer base. Lion Video has amassed 15,000 DVD and VHS copies, with foreign films making up 60 percent of the inventory. The exclusives, which line the walls at the entrance of the store, are bought in euros and rarely cost less than $50 a copy. In a Better World, the Swedish film that this year won a Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, has yet to receive video distribution in the U.S. and isn't available from Netflix or Blockbuster online. Lion Video? It had In a Better World in stock months before awards season even began. Hertado even has films that never received US distribution and whose worth reaches into the thousands of dollars. The 1991 film High Heels, directed by iconic Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, was never released in the U.S. or printed on DVD. One VHS copy resides in Lion Video, and the store remains the only place in South Florida where cinephiles can find a copy. If Lion Video survives, Hertado plans on liquidating almost his entire stock of American films so he can focus on foreign films and exclusives. With Netflix dominating the video rental market, Hertado knows that if he wants to compete he has to offer only what the online rental sites don't have. "We really want customers to be able to walk in here and say, 'I can't get this on Netflix,' " said Hertado. "It's like if you want to go to an Italian restaurant, you can go to any in the city, or you can go to the restaurant that has the genuine food you can't find anywhere else. Well, that's us." While Lion Video experienced almost immediate success, employee Chris Mazenberger, a film student at Miami International University of Art and Design, says the store has seen a marked decrease in customers. Hired last October, Mazenberger created a Facebook page to generate interest, but that wasn't enough. His last day working there was June 7th. Still, Hertado receives membership applications from new customers almost every day. "Working at the store has really given me a new cultural awareness, teaching me about what's culturally important in other countries," said Mazenberger. "If the store closes, Miami will be losing its best supply of foreign films" For years Lion Video has provided film students at the University of Miami and Florida International University with copies of rare foreign films, even renting out a VHS player for those without. Paul Lazarus, professor and former Program Director of the Motion Picture Program at UM's School of Communication, began frequenting Lion Video at the advice of a colleague soon after the store first opened. While he understands the value of a quality film resource such as Lion, he sees the store's closing as inevitable with the video store fading away into the past as the record store did years before. "You could go into Lion and ask any question to whichever young guy was behind the counter and he knew everything there was to know about that film or that director. It's truly tragic to see such a resource fade away, but you just can't turn back progress," said Lazarus. "I will mourn their passing, but a small retail store with a special interest audience will have a hard time competing." To see more of The Miami Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Miami Herald Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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